Year 10 Business Students Visit Ports of Auckland
14 March 2011
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The Year 10 Business course is a popular one. Not only does it introduce students to key aspects of the world in which we consume, produce and exchange, but also leads into, and builds enthusiasm for, the senior courses in Business, Accounting and Economics.
Last week our Year 10 Business students and staff visited the waterfront of Auckland and cruised the harbour. It was a unique opportunity to explore, first hand, the critical role the Ports of Auckland plays in the economy of New Zealand. The hour long tour took our students alongside the container terminals where they saw the big cranes and other machinery at work. |
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The tour boat cruised in and out of the commercial wharves, with an informative commentary that was tailored to identify port activity and infrastructure of particular interest for the students. Some of the cruise points of interest were general wharves, container wharves, tug boats, cool stores for bananas and other fruits, cruise ships, recreational yachts and launches, Tank Farm-Bulk liquid imports and Viaduct Harbour.
A Feast of Information from McDonalds
4 April 2011
It was for information rather than food that the Year 11 Economics students visited Greenlane McDonalds (which has the 2ndlargest sales turnover in NZ) last week. The information gathered left them amazed at how much food New Zealanders consume from the Golden Arches each year.
NCEA Level 1 Economics internal assessment requires research on how producers make production decisions and the implications of these for society. With well-prepared questions at the ready the students were given plenty of opportunity to glean the data they needed.
In a 12 month period McDonalds purchases
- 5.58m Kg of beef
- 2.3m Kg of chicken
- 4.6m Litres of milk
- 11m eggs
and $224m worth of supplies is exported to other McDonalds around the world.
And what about New Zealanders as consumers of McDonalds products? We are prepared to spend a mean $2 on an item but not $2.50 (ie one coin only) – unlike Australia for instance. And we come by the carload to the Drive-Thru at McDonalds – again unlike other countries where it is usually the sole diner who chooses the Drive-Thru. With 44% of sales done at the Drive-Thru the newer McDonalds outlets in New Zealand have double lanes at the Drive-Thru to cater for our laziness!!
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